Like most commuters, I'm a sucker for a branded water bottle or free copy of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. What about branded fortune cookies? While the concept is nothing new, the strategy, along with additional campaign elements, proved successful for American Airlines when the company launched its Chicago to Shanghai nonstop service in April.

Sweets. Tranquility. Caffeine. If we were on "$100,000 Pyramid," you would respond, "things you crave." This may be true, but does positioning a car and its amenities as something to crave equate to an increase in sales? Honda hopes so.